Photographer: John Thomson (1837-1921). Pavilion in Puntingqua’s Garden, Canton. 1869. Albumen print, mounted to original board. 23,5 x 27,8 cm (mount ca. 30 x 40 cm). Titled in German in ink and pencil below the image on the mount.
Photographer: John Thomson (1837-1921). Pearl River, Canton. 1869. Albumen print, mounted to original board. 18 x 26,1 cm (mount ca. 30 x 40 cm). Titled in ink/pencil in German below the image on the mount.
Photographers: William Saunders (1832-1892), Lai Afong (1839-1890), Pun Lun Studio (active 1864-1907), Sze Yuen Ming & Co. (active 1892-1920s) and others. Scenes of daily life in Qing-Dynasty China. 1880s-1890s. 12 albumen prints, mounted to board. Each ca. 26 x 19 cm or reverse. Some annotated in pencil below the image on the mount.
This group of photographs offers a richly detailed view of social, domestic, and professional life in late Qing dynasty China. Several images depict opium-smoking scenes in carefully arranged interiors, with lacquered furniture and ceramics underscoring both the ritualized nature of the practice and its staged presentation. Others show men at leisure - playing games, dining, or posing in formal dress - as well as figures in professional or performative roles, including opera actors and a street porter with his rickshaw. A particularly striking image of a man wearing a punishment cangue provides rare visual evidence of contemporary penal practices.
Photographer: William Saunders (1832-1892). Views of Shanghai. 1880s. 6 albumen prints (one duplicate), one mounted to board. Between 19, x 24,5 cm and 21 x 26 cm.
This group of photographs includes a studio portrait of Chinese opera performers and genre scenes of everyday life in and around Shanghai, showing rickshaw transport, street vendors, and scenes of rural and peri-urban labor. One view depicts the Huxinting Tea House (also known as the City Tea House), here shown within its surrounding waterways and timber structures.
Photographers: Lai Afong (1839-1890) and others. Views of Canton. 1880s-90s. 11 albumen prints, some mounted to card or board. Each between 18,5 x 24,5 cm and 20,5 x 28 cm. Some titled in the negative in lower margin of print.
This group of albumen prints presents views of South China in the late 19th century, centered on Canton (Guangzhou) and the Pearl River, with riverfront panoramas, harbors crowded with sampans and steamers, and temple architecture including ceremonial gateways. The selection also extends beyond Canton to well-known coastal and pilgrimage sites, including a Buddhist monastery at Puto Island (near Ningbo) and a sweeping harbor view likely made in Hong Kong.
Photographers: Lai Afong (1839-1890), William Pryor Floyd (1834-1900), Herbert Elgar Hobson (1844-1922), and others. Views of Shanghai, Hong Kong, Canton, and Macao. 1880s. 12 albumen prints, mounted to board. Each ca. 21 x 28 cm (mounts ca. 31 x 27 cm). Most annotated in black ink below the image on the mount.
This selection of photographs comprises views of Shanghai, Hong Kong, Canton (Guangzhou), and Macao, alongside some portraits - among them office workers in traditional Chinese dress and palanquin bearers. Also included are a two-part panorama of the Shamian (Shameen) settlement in Canton, as well as views of the Pazhou (Pachao) Pagoda and the Hoi Tong (Hainan) Temple in Canton.
Civil War
Deceased soldiers on the battlefield after Gettysburg
Los 4052
Schätzung
500€ (US$ 568)
Photographer: Timothy O'Sullivan (1840-1882). Deceased soldiers on the battlefield after Gettysburg. 1863. 2 albumen stereoviews, mounted to orange cardstock. Each ca. 7,8 x 16 cm (mounts ca. 10 x 17,7 cm). Numbered and titled “Confederate Dead on the Battlefield” / “Union Dead at Gettysburg” below the image on the mounts; publisher’s information printed on the verso of the mounts.
These two stark battlefield views record the aftermath of the fighting at Gettysburg, shifting the focus from combat to its human toll. One image shows a fallen Confederate soldier lying supine in sparse terrain, his rifle and personal effects arranged beside him, while the other presents a broader scene of Union dead scattered in rows along a fence at the edge of a wooded area. Issued as part of the "Photographic War History, 1861-1865" series, these stereoviews exemplify the unflinching documentary character of Civil War photography, using the stereoscope to confront viewers with the physical realities of war with striking immediacy.
Photographer: Guillaume Berggren (1835-1920). Panorama of Constantinople. 1870s. Panorama consisting of 9 albumen prints, mounted to boards as leporello. Each between 19 x 16,5 and 19 x 20 cm (entire size: 29,5 x 184,5 cm).
Taken from an elevated vantage point in Galata, likely at or near the Galata Tower, this panoramic view presents a sweeping survey of Constantinople’s historic waterfront. The Bosporus shoreline and the Golden Horn frame the densely layered cityscape of the Historic Peninsula, with major monuments - including the Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, Süleymaniye Mosque, Yeni Cami, Nuruosmaniye Mosque, and the Beyazit Tower - clearly articulated within the broader urban fabric.
Constantinople
Panorama of Constantinople from the Galata Tower
Los 4054
Schätzung
1.500€ (US$ 1,705)
Photographer: Pascal Sébah (1823-1886). Panorama of Constantinople from the Galata Tower. 1870s. Panorama consisting of 8 albumen prints, mounted to board as leporello. Each circa 26,5 x 32,5 cm (entire size: 30 x 263 cm). Presented in original red canvas album with gilt-stamped ornamentation and title.
A large and complete panoramic view photographed from the Galata Tower, surveying Constantinople across the Golden Horn and the Bosporus toward the Asian shore of Üsküdar. The continuous sequence encompasses the Galata Bridge and Yeni Cami in the foreground and the Historic Peninsula beyond, with the Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace complex, Süleymaniye Mosque, and the clearly visible Beyazit Tower set within dense residential quarters and busy harbor traffic, offering a comprehensive view of the late Ottoman capital.
Photographers: Guillaume Berggren (1835-1920), Basile Kargopoulo (1826-1886), and others. Views of Constantinople. 1880s-1890s. 5 albumen prints. Each ca. 20,5 x 26,5 cm. Annotated and/or stamped in black ink on the verso; some signed, numbered and titled in the negative in lower margin.
This lot brings together several views of Constantinople, including the Galata (Karaköy) Bridge and sweeping prospects over the Bosphorus, alongside key monuments such as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque and the gate of Dolmabahçe Palace, as well as a vivid crowd scene depicting Friday prayer in front of the Yıldız Hamidiye Mosque.
Photographers: Sébah & Joaillier (active 1884-1908), Guillaume Berggren (1835-1920), and others. Views of Constantinople. 1880s-1890s. 8 albumen prints, mounted to board. Each ca. 21,8 x 27 cm (mounts ca. 29 x 33,4 cm). Most titled, numbered, and signed in the negative in the lower margin.
This group comprises views of Constantinople, including the Mihrisah Valide Sultan Fountain, the Küçüksu Pavilion, the waterfront of Büyükdere along the Bosphorus, views of the strait itself, Karacaahmet Cemetery, and scenes from an Istanbul bazaar. One photograph depicts the historic cityscape of Smyrna (modern-day Izmir).
Photographer unknown. Early views of Cornwall. 1860s. 3 oval-trimmed albumen prints, one mounted to card. Each ca. 14,5 x 19 cm (mount ca. 26,5 x 36 cm). Two prints annotated in pencil on the verso.
This small group comprises coastal views around Newquay, Cornwall, including Fistral Bay and the Towan Head area. The photographs emphasize expansive horizons, animated skies, and the shifting play of light across sea and surf. Their atmospheric quality moves beyond straightforward topographical record, aligning instead with the pictorial language of mid-19th-century seascape photography.
Crémiere, Léon & Erwin Hanfstaengl
Grenadier of the Imperial Guard
Los 4058
Schätzung
1.200€ (US$ 1,364)
Grenadier of the Imperial Guard. 1861. Albumen print, mounted to original card with printed ornamental border. 25 x 19,2 (mount 42,6 x 30,5 cm). Signed "Crémiere & Hanfstaengl Paris 1861" in the negative in lower margin of print. With the photographer’s studio imprint “Crémière & Hanfstaengl, Phot.” and address “28, rue Laval et rue Frochot, 2, Paris” printed below the image on the mount.
This photograph was produced during the short-lived Paris collaboration of Léon Crémière and Erwin Hanfstaengl in the early 1860s, when they operated a joint portrait studio at rue Laval. Combining Crémière’s courtly connections and experience in portraiture with Hanfstaengl’s technical training, their partnership favored carefully staged, formal images suited to official and elite clientele. The depiction of an Imperial Guard grenadier reflects this approach, presenting the soldier as an emblematic figure within the visual culture of the Second Empire.
Photographer: Rudolph Theodor Kuhn (1842-1900). Views of Danzig. 1895. 7 collotypes, mounted to board. Each ca. 27 x 20 cm or reverse (mounts 39,5 x 32,5 cm or reverse). Most numbered, titled, and dated, as well as bearing the photographer’s copyright information in the negative in the lower left corner.
The views in this lot include the Marienkirche (St. Mary’s Church), panoramic views of the city from the fortifications and the Bischofsberg, the Stockturm and Hauptwache, the interior of the Artushof (Court of Arthur), as well as street views of Frauengasse and Jopengasse.
Deutsch-Ostafrika
Inhabitants of various African regions, most of "Deutsch-Ostafrika"
Los 4060
Schätzung
800€ (US$ 909)
Photographer unknown. Inhabitants of various African regions, most of "Deutsch-Ostafrika". Circa 1890s-1915. 45 albumen and collodion prints. Various sizes between 10 x 14 cm and 17 x 24 cm.
This group of photographs presents portraits of men and women from various regions of Africa, the majority originating from what was then known as Deutsch-Ostafrika (present-day Tanzania and surrounding areas). The images include group portraits in traditional dress, often posed with tools, weapons, or ceremonial adornment, alongside scenes of village life with thatched dwellings and communal gatherings. Other photographs document the colonial presence more directly, including uniformed troops assembled in formation, European officials in domestic settings attended by local servants, and staged compositions juxtaposing colonial and indigenous subjects.
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© 2026 Galerie Gerda Bassenge
Galerie Bassenge
Erdener Str. 5A
14193 Berlin
Öffnungszeiten:
Montag bis Donnerstag, 10–18 Uhr,
Freitag, 10–16 Uhr
Telefon: +49 30 8938029-0
Fax: +49 30 8918025
E-Mail: info (at) bassenge.com
Impressum
Datenschutzerklärung
© 2026 Galerie Gerda Bassenge